Judging College Football Playoff contenders: Group 3, space hegemons

At last we reach our final group of College Football Playoff contenders, the teams with the strongest looking space force units. I’m sure we’re missing someone, like the 2019 LSU Tigers. If you don’t recall the story around that team in the preseason, they hired Joe Brady and were talking loudly about how he’d installed a wide open spread offense which was going to be more lethal than anything anyone had seen before.

“Sure thing. And Joe Burrow is still your quarterback?”

I actually liked Burrow, and Justin Jefferson who was moving inside to make room for someone called Ja’Marr Chase, but I still made some embarrassing statements before their game against Texas where I wildly underestimated how good they could be after a great offseason. After that game? I had them pegged for the College Football Playoff title. 

Similarly, I figured Alabama would roll with Mac Jones in 2020 to make the most of a strong O-line, Najee Harris, and still having Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith…but I didn’t expect THAT.

Who are we overlooking as College Football Playoff contenders in 2021? Maybe one of the following teams, maybe someone else entirely.

The Georgia Bulldogs

The Bulldogs have been a popular pick since adding J.T. Daniels. He gave them a significant boost in the back half of 2020 once he was healthy. Then one of their best wide receivers, George Pickens, hurt his ACL. Additionally, one of the stories of their fall camp has regarded returning left tackle Jamaree Salyer and his superior fit at guard over tackle. Recently he’s taken snaps at center due to their starter having a cast on his hand and he may very well stick there.

So, there are some question marks with the passing game. Throw in star pass-rusher Azeez Ojulari going pro along with four out of five starters in the secondary (including both cornerbacks) and you have an awful lot of question marks on defense. Thing is, it’s Georgia, and they’ve been recruiting and developing like gangbusters at all of these positions for years now under Kirby Smart.

They took in transfers Derion Kendrick (Clemson cornerback) and Tykee Smith (West Virginia nickel) to help 5-star Kelee Ringo man their coverage positions. There are three different former 5-star recruits who could factor in as the main edge rusher, young former blue chips Xavier Truss and Broderick Jones are battling for the left tackle job, and there are two different 4.4 sprinters vying for deep threat targets in Jermaine Burton and Arian Smith.

So Georgia has elite athleticism at all of the space force positions and all of it concentrated in guys who are in their second or third year in the program. There’s a decent chance it could all come together to offer the Bulldogs a Championship team but it ALL has to come together.

The Penn State Nittany Lions

The Lions have a lot of under the radar potential. They looked very unready for last year, losing the first five before winning big in the final four games of the season.

For this next year they have their tackles and center back, anchored by big left tackle Rasheem Walker, and quarterback Sean Clifford returns. They replaced Kirk Ciarrocca with Mike Yurcich, fresh from the failed 2020 Texas season, and get back star receiver Jahan Dotson. Yurcich is going to bring a downfield dimension to this offense with Dotson so getting an actual offseason should be extremely useful. I wonder to what extent Ciarrocca was undone (or Yurcich at Texas for that matter) by missing spring practices in 2020. Dotson is a legitimately dominant athlete outside, he’s going to be a problem if the passing game is dialed in, and Walker was good last year playing left tackle as a redshirt freshman.

Defensively it’s hard to believe Penn State will lack for good play at end. Temple transfer Arnold Ebiketi had four sacks in six games for the Owls, he’ll be flanked by Nick Tarburton, a fourth-year former blue chip who has been held back by injuries. They also moved starting linebacker Jesse Luketa (6-foot-3, 251 pounds) to the edge. At cornerback they return Joey Porter Jr. and Tariq Castro-Fields and Porter (yes, son of the Steeler) was their best guy last season.

I’m a bit torn here. Porter’s SPARQ numbers in high school were not what you want from your ace cornerback. He ran a 4.69 40, 4.25 shuttle, and had a 31.2” vertical, none of which scream “elite athletic potential here!” His dad had a 4.69 40, 4.41 shuttle, and 39” vertical out of college as a 6-foot-3, 250-pound linebacker.

On the other hand, he held up against Ohio State last season who were as good chucking it deep as anyone in the country without a white number on crimson helmets. The Buckeyes mostly avoided him save for one fade where he forced a contested catch. Overall the Lions seem to have as competitive a space force unit as anyone in the country.

The Clemson Tigers

Of course the Dabo Swinney Tigers are still hanging around as a College Football Playoff contender. My read of D.J. Uiagalelei’s play as a freshman in South Bend was the Tigers are going to be okay without Trevor Lawrence. A more interesting question is how they’ll approach the regular season without Travis Etienne? Do they still run their way through the ACC before leaning on the pass in the playoffs? Or ask Uiagalelei to carry a heavier load in the regular season, throwing and running? Running back is likely to be spearheaded by 5-star freshman Will Shipley.

Interestingly they are moving right tackle Jordan McFadden to left tackle to replace Jackson Carman. McFadden is 6-foot-2, 300 pounds with the reach of a 6-foot-4 player per Dabo Swinney. This is potentially a questionable spot for the Tigers, but McFadden played really well last year and wasn’t an issue in protection against Ohio State.

At wide receiver they return Justyn Ross, who dominated the playoffs in 2018, and will put third year players Frank Ladson and Joseph Ngata out wide. If Ross is healthy, I expect them to be excellent again here.

Defensively the edges should be good, K.J. Henry and Myles Murphy are projected to start and each showed promise last year. They also have 5-star Bryan Bresee at 3-technique who looks like a force multiplier in the pass-rush. Cornerback got ripped by Ohio State out wide and junior Andrew Booth is reported to be one of the only guys on the roster who can withstand their receiving talent. Of course you only need one island corner.

You don’t really want to bet against Clemson. Dabo excels at developing wide receivers and Venables in using edge rushers.

The LSU Tigers

The Tigers completely collapsed in 2020 after losing both coordinators and 14 draft picks. I thought they’d fare better, then Ja’Marr Chase opted out and Arik Gilbert had some issues which led him to transfer. They still scored 32 ppg but Bo Pellini struggled on defense and overall things weren’t great.

Returning quarterback Myles Brennan just broke his arm so sophomore Max Johnson will be taking over and freshman Garrett Nussmeier is the only scholarship back-up. Oops. They also lost star left tackle Dare Rosenthal to transfer and will now turn to junior Cameron Wire, who played some in 2020. Wire is massive, 6-6 with a crazy long wingspan, he’s hard to get around and has already shown something in some spot starts.

Wide receiver features 5-star sophomore Kayshon Boutte, who had 45 catches for 735 yards last year and five scores. He’s a terrifying weapon, ultra smooth on the field, they’ll have to find some other guys but it’s not a great bet to assume they won’t.

On defense, edges B.J. Ojulari and Andre Anthony had four and 5.5 sacks respectively. The Tigers got rid of Bo Pellini but are maintaining a 4-2-5 structure because Ed Orgeron believes 4-down is the best way to make the most of their D-line talent. They certainly have a lot of it. Top cornerback is Derek Stingley, who could be the most dominant defensive player in the nation.

Overall LSU is a lot like Penn State. Everyone is down on them because they cratered amidst the difficult circumstances of 2020, people don’t trust the head coaches, and they don’t have proven stars at quarterback. Those are all valid concerns, but the talent level on this team is terrific, particularly in the space force.

The Alabama Crimson Tide

If I told you a team won the National Championship but then lost the star cornerback, two deep threat receivers, a first round left tackle, and the quarterback, you might be inclined to fade them the following year. If I then told you it was Alabama, you might take it back, but maybe not. The only back-to-back National Championships won by Alabama came in 2011 and 2012 before the playoff era.

Alabama is replacing Mac Jones with Bryce Young, which is deemed an acceptable trade, and Steve Sarkisian for Bill O’Brien which has raised some questions but could very well be more than fine. The space force spots will tell the story. Evan Neal moves from right tackle to left and has been putting up videos on social media in which he performs feats of extraordinary athleticism at 6-foot-7, 350 pounds. The expectation is Alabama is in good shape here. Wide receiver still has John Metchie outside, who burned some teams last year over the top when he got the chance, and freshman Agiye Hall certainly looked the part in the spring game. They also added Ohio State transfer Jameson Williams.

On defense the edges have Chris Allen and Will Anderson returning (13 total sacks). It all basically comes down to how well they can replace Patrick Surtain at cornerback. His tandem partner in 2020 Josh Jobe is back and if you really want to drink the Kool-Aid for the 2021 Tide you can literally do so and help support Surtain’s replacement, a 5-star freshman named “Kool-Aid” McKinstry. He’s 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and has all kinds of hype around his play on the perimeter.

Here’s groups one (doubtful) and two (maybe…) of College Football Playoff contenders if you missed them.

Who am I missing for the College Football Playoff?

Cover photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images